Investigators looking into the crash of a China Eastern Airlines jet are examining whether it was due to intentional action on the flight deck, with no evidence found of a technical malfunction, two people briefed on the matter said, Reuters reports.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that flight data from one of the Boeing 737-800’s black boxes indicated that someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane, citing people familiar with the preliminary assessment of U.S. officials.
“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,” according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, citing a person familiar with US officials’ preliminary assessment of the cause of the crash.
Investigators have so far not found any mechanical or technical faults with the jet, the reports say, citing a preliminary assessment by US officials.
Data from one of the plane’s “black box” flight recorders, which was recovered from the crash site, suggested that inputs to the controls pushed the plane into a near-vertical dive, the report said.
The Boeing 737-800, en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed on March 21 in the mountains of the Guangxi region, after a sudden plunge from cruising altitude, killing all 123 passengers and nine crew members aboard.
